Hide-And-Seek
by Manifesto
Summary: Both Sherry and Merrill are missing but could only one of them be the victim?


Sherry sat in her warm chair in the library, sipping on a soda. The can became lighter and lighter, as her lips never left the stripped-red straw. The sun drenched the walls a fiery red as Sherry's eyes swept over the poem. "….the colour of your eyes….curve of your nose….fullness of your lips…." She put the soda can down beside her books and remembered his cool lips against hers. She didn't remember the night very well but all that really mattered was that she was in his arms. A smile pulled across her lips and she looked up from the poem. A bird's mating call shattered the silence in the library. Sherry lifted her head and the curls covering her face from view pushed themselves back. The sun streaked across her skin and she basked in its glow. The day was perfect and she was in the library studying on a Sunday afternoon.  
  
'The day is too perfect to be stuck in here,' she thought.  
  
Sherry turned her attention back to the poem and sighed. "Drew, I need to see you again," she whispered to no one. She closed her scrapbook and looked around. There was no one in the library so she gathered her books and empty soda can. Her legs pushed the chair back with a scrap and she left the library.  
  
She threw the can into the garbage as she made her way towards the stairs. With each step, her sneakers squeaked. 'Why the hell do the janitors have to wax the stupid floors?' She hopped up the stairs two at a time and hopped onto the landing. She took a right and finally came to her bedroom door. Grasping the handle lightly, she opened the door and breathed a sigh to see that the Bitch Queen was not in the room. "I don't care how desperate she is, I want her out!" Sherry had told Dr. Murdoch not less than two days ago but he simply shook his head and told her that Dillan was staying put.  
  
Sherry looked around the room. Clothes were hanging off the chair; no doubt Dillan was too lazy to put her own things away. Sherry stuck out her bottom lips and blew curls out of her eyes. She dropped her things on the bed and walked towards the closet. Opening the door, she looked for her favourite jacket but it was not in its usual place. On the hanger was a yellow post-it note that read "Hope you don't mind me borrowing your jacket. Thanx. Dillan" The rage in Sherry's blood boiled. The note in Sherry's hand was the first victim. She crumpled it into a ball as her fists clenched.  
  
Sherry's eyes scanned the closet and they found nothing. Closing the door and turning around, her eye caught a glint of something underneath Dillan's bed. Her curiosity peaked; Sherry got down on her hands and knees and crawled towards the bed. Her hand reached under the wooden frame and touched cold metal and…leather? She pulled and from under the bed came a leather jacket. Her fingers examined the soft material and cold metal studs. Sherry smirked and called a draw as she put the jacket on. The leather was comfortable against her skin and she got up. Pulling her hair out from under the collar, she turned towards the full-length mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked out the door, ready to show the world just what she had borrowed from her roommate.  
  
As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear shouting from an open window. The students had started a late afternoon football game. As she reached the ground floor, Sherry approached the window and saw Dillan as quarterback, hunched over ready to catch the ball. Sherry's favourite denim jacket hung around Dillan's waist as she yelled out, "Hut, hut, hut!" Not bothering to watch the rest of the play, Sherry walked towards the large doors leading to the property surrounding Mansbridge Manor. A gentle wind blew as she opened the door. Her curls blew into her face as the heavy wood shut with a bang. Brushing her hair behind her ear, Sherry walked down the long path leading up to the gates and turned towards the large football game. Ahead of her, students ran, some trying to catch the ball, some trying to make others fumble. Swinging her arms gently, Sherry approached the players just as Nick caught the ball and spiked it triumphantly.  
  
"Still in the game, I see," Sherry said as Nick stopped the high-fives and body slams from his teammates. He looked over his shoulder.  
  
"You wanna play?" he asked, looking at her tight jeans and leather jacket. Sherry looked at the setting sun and shook her head.  
  
"I have a better idea."  
  
  
  
The football game continued on until dusk, when the sun hid behind the trees and darkness fell. Instead of returning to Mansbridge Manor, the students headed towards the woods for a game of Hide-And-Seek. As bodies delved into the woods, two cloaked figures looked at each other and nodded. Silently, they passed through the trees, avoiding the other students until the one with the golden curls came into view. From the boundaries of the forest, Nick's loud counting could be heard. Giggles and laughs came from the trees and the students each split up and hid. Sherry brushed through the pine trees and found a safe haven in a ditch behind several tall birches. The slope wasn't steep and the pine needles covered the muddy ground. She allowed herself to walk down a few metres; then got down on her hands and knees. She waited for a few minutes, letting her heartbeat calm down. The game was dangerous, especially in the dark. The sunlight that had helped her find her hiding spot was disappearing as the last rays vanished behind the horizon. Sherry waited and waited, listening for the cracking of twigs or the rustling of leaves. But it never came. She breathed the moist air as her fingers felt the cool, damp earth beneath her.  
  
She was too far away to hear whether Nick was searching yet, but the shrill pierce of Malcolm's whistle told her that someone had been caught. She sighed in relief and just as she pushed herself off the ground, something grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream but a hand covered her mouth. Her eyes wide with fear, she struggled but the thing that caught her held her tight. It pulled her close as it whispered in her ear, "Scream and you die." The voice was inhuman. It was raspy and deep but in no way human. She whimpered and could feel the hot tears behind her eyes. The thing lifted her off her feet and took her deeper into the forest.  
  
'There's more than one,' she thought as she heard the swish of cloaks through the trees. Finally, a low branch hit her head and senselessness overcame her. 


End file.
